Doll head with movable eyes



July 1 2 D. COHN ETAL DOLL HEAD WITH MOVABLE EYES Filed Aug. 15, 1946 uu a lb 6 m L m KI m W I :Nxu tux m 5M u E K N 5 =L n R A W H C PatentedJuly 1, 1952 DOLL HEAD WITH MOVABLE EYES David Cohn, Brooklyn,

Ridgewood, N. Y., assig ration, Newark, Jersey and Charles Kusold, norsto Margon Corpo- N. J., a corporation of New Application August 13,1946, Serial No. 690,100

24 Claims. .1

This invention relates to dolls, and more particularly to the heads ofsleeping dolls, that is, heads arranged to receive movable eyes. i

The priinary object of the present invention is to generallyimprove'doll heads, and the mounting of movable eyes in such heads.

Another object is to provide a simplified eye mounting for a doll headmade of thermoplastic material. A more particular object is to providesuch a head with bearings molded integrally with the head and adapted toreadily receive the shaft of an eye set after the head has been molded,said bearings having parts which may be bent to retain the eye set inposition in the bearings, by applying heat anda squeezing pressure tosaid bearing parts. t l

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specificobjects which will hereinafter appear, our invention resides in the dollhead and movable eye elements and their relation one to the other, asare hereinafter more particularly described in the followingspecification. The specification is accompanied by a drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken at one eye of a doll head embodyingfeatures of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the doll head taken. behind theeyes;

Fig. 3 is a detail drawn to enlarge scale and explanatory of theinvention;

Fig. 4-is a similar view showing how parts of the hearing are bent toretain the eye shaft in position; 7

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing a modification utilizingbushings;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through one "part of a doll head, and istaken approximately in the plane of the line 6-6 ofFig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section behind the eye set of a doll head having amodified mounting;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken approxi mately in the plane oftheline 8-8 of Fig; 7;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section through one bearing; and

Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken approximately in the plane of theline Ill-40 of Fig. 7

Referring to the drawing, the invention in all forms comprisesgenerically a head H molded of a thermoplastic material, and providedwith an eye set generally designated E. The eye set includes a shaftwhich affords rotation or sleeping movement of the eyes,'and a weight Wfor gravitationallychanging the position of the eyes when the doll isturned from upright to recumbent position. The shaft of the eye set isreceived in bearings B having bearing slots which are initially open atone end to receive the eye shaft. The bearings include parts which areadapted to be closed by applying heat and a squeezing pressure (theclosed parts being indicated in Figs. 4, 5 and 10), thereby retainingthe eye shaft in position in the bearings.

Considering the first form of the invention in greater detail, andreferring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, there are bearings l2 and I4integrally molded with the head and projecting rearwardly from the frontwall of the head near the sides of the head. Each bearing is initiallyformed with a bearing slot l6 (see Fig. 3), dimensioned to rotatablyreceive the cross-rod l8 of the eye set. The bearing further includesparts 20 which are adapted to be squeezed together in order to close thebearing and prevent escape of the crossrod. For this purpose a toolschematically indicated at 22 is employed, this tool being arranged toapply heat and a squeezing pressure to the parts 20, thus bending themtoward one another around the outer side of the shaft l8, therebyholding the shaft l8 Within the bearing, without, however, looking itagainst rotation. This is best illustrated by the change from Fig. 3 toFig. 4.

It will be understood that the bearings I2 and I4, or at least thebendable parts 20-40 thereof, are molded free of the side walls of thedoll head, thus exposing the same for the desired closing operation. Itwill also be understood that the tool 22 may employ relatively movablejaws, instead of the simple tapered or V-shape illustrated in thedrawing. The latter tool is simply moved from. right to left, as viewedin the drawing.

In Figs. 1 and 2, it will be understood that the eye set consists ofeyes '24 and 26 carried on a cross-rod or shaft 28, the latter havingends or trunnions 36 which are received in the bearings l2 and I4. Aweight wire 32 is Welded to the shaft '28 at 34. The lower end of theweight wire is bent to carry a weight 36, the latter in the present casebeing folded to U-shape and squeezed on the part 38 of the weight 'wire.The weight wire may be extended at its upper end to provide a motionlimiting stop 40, said stop bearing against a stop surface 42 on theinside of the doll head, thereby arresting the closing or sleepingmovement of the eyes when the doll is in lying position.

Although the eye set is shown supported in a pair of widely spacedbearings receiving the ends of the eye shaft, it will be understood thata substantially similar construction may be employed, but with thebearings located inside the eyes 24 and 26, instead of outside the eyes.In such case, the bearings project rearwardly from the front wall of thehead at each side of the weight wire 32, and are provided with openended slots receiving the eye shaft much as has already been described.

A slightly modified form of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 5 and6 of the drawing. In this case, the eye shaft 59 further includestubular metal bushings or sleeves 52, in which the shaft is rotatable.The open ended slots in the integrally molded thermoplastic bearings 54are made large enough in diameter to receive the bushings 52. To mountthe eyes in the head the bushings 52 are slid over the ends of theshaft, and the complete eye set is then slid into the bearings 54. Apreferably heated pressure tool such as that schematically indicated atFigs. 3 and 4 is then applied to the sides of the slot, that is, to theprojecting parts 56 of the bearings 54, thus bending or squeezing sametoward one another, as is clearly shown in Fig. 5. This retains thebushing in position. The present modification has the obvious advantageof guarding against any possibility of binding the eyeshaft by theapplication of excessive pressure when closing the open slot of thebearing.

Here again it will be understood that center bearings may be used,instead of the side bearings illustrated. In such case, the eye shaftwill include bushings disposed on each side of the weight arm betweenthe Weight arm and the eyes.

Still another form of the invention is illustrated in Figs. '7, 8, 9 and10 of the drawing. Referring first to Fig. 9, the integrally moldedbearing 85] is provided with an open bearing slot 62. This slot isenlarged to provide what may be termed a seat 64 for a metal plate whichcloses the bearing. The parts 66 may be squeezed together under heat andpressure to retain the plate in position, and through it to retaintheshaft in position. The location of the plate on the broad seat 64affords rotation of the shaft, much as with the bushing in Figs. 5 and6. Thus in Fig. 10 the eye shaft 68 is held in place by deformation ofthe parts 56 of the bearing 60, the holding action of the part 66 takingplace through the medium of the plate 10.

As so far described, the bearings might be located at the sides of thehead receiving the ends of the eye shaft, as shown in Figs. 1 through 6of the drawing, there being two separate plates 10, one in each of thebearings. A similar arrangement may be used with bearings located nearthe center of the head.

In the particular form of the invention illustrated in the drawing, thebearings are located at the center of the head at each side of theweight arm 12, and the two plates are connected by a bridge of metal714, so that only a single metal piece need be handled. The connectingmetal M is arched rearwardly, as is best shown in Fig. 8, in order toprovide adequate clearance for the swinging movement of the weight armI2. In fact, the connecting metal 14 may, if desired,'be so dimensionedas to provide a motion limiting stop to limit closing movement of theeyes when the weight arm 12 engages the bottom edge of the arch It. Thismay be in lieu of or in addition to a stop action which may be providedby extending the weight arm upwardly, as-indicated at 16, the part 16being so bent as to bear against the 4 front wall of the head when theeyes are in closed position.

The material used for the doll head may be any suitable thermoplasticmaterial, which is rigid at room temperature, for example, celluloseacetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, acrylic resins such as methylmethacrylate, and styrene resins such as polystyrene. 1

It is believed that the construction and method of assembly of ourimproved doll head, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparentfrom the foregoing detailed description. The eye set may be of simplesttype; it comprising merely a pair of eyes, a cross-rod, and a weightarm. The bearings for this simplified eye set are molded integrally withthe head as a part of the main molding operation. The provision of thesebearings adds only negligibly to the cost of the head. The eye set isreadily slipped into the open bearing slots and is retained in positionby closing parts of the bearing, preferably under heat and pressure. Theeye set may be mounted in the front half of the head before adding'therear half, or if preferred, the eye set may be inserted in an alreadyclosed head, through the neck opening. Similarly, the tool for bendingthe parts of the bearing, and thus locking the eye set in the head, maybe operated through the neck opening if the head is closed before addingthe eyes.

The bearings may be provided either outside the eyes or between theeyes. The eye shaft may be retained by the plastic material directly, orindirectly through the intermediate use of bushings, or backing plates.

It will be apparent that while we have shown and described our inventionin several preferred forms, changes may be made in the structuresdisclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as soughtto be defined in the following claims.

We claim: a

l. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having eye shaft bearings formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearings having bearingslots of substantial total depth open at one end to receive the eyeshaft, the parts of said bearings at the open end of said slots beingadapted to be turned toward one another by applying heat and a squeezingpressure to said parts of the bearings, in order to help retain the eyeshaft in position.

2. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having eye shaft bearings formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearings having bearingslots of sub stantial total depth open at the rear to receive the eyeshaft, the parts of said bearings at the rear end of said slots beingadapted to be turned toward one another by applying ,heat and asqueezing pressure to the rear ends of the bearing, in order to helpretain the eye shaft in position.

3. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the insideof said head having one or more eye shaftbearings formed integrally with the head and of the same material andprojecting rearwardly from the front of the head, said bearings havingslots open at one end and dimensioned to receive metal bushingssurrounding the eye shaft, said slots being adapted to be closed byapplying heat and a squeezing pressure to parts of the bearing, therebyretaining the eye shaft bushings and with them the eye shaft inposition.

4. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having one or more eye shaftbearings formed integrally with the head and of the same material andprojecting rearwardly from the front of the head, said bearings havingslots open at the rear and dimensioned to receive metal bushingssurrounding the eye shaft, said slots being adapted to be closed byapplying heat and a squeezing pressure to the rear ends of the bearing,thereby retaining the eye shaft bushings and with them the eye shaft inposition.

5. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot open at one end and adapted to receive the eye shaft, said bearinghaving a wider seat at the open end of the bearing slot extending allthe way to the end of the bearing slot and adapted to receive a platefor closing the bearing slot, the wider seat being adapted to be closedtoward the plate by applying heat and a squeezing pressure to the sidesof the seat, and thereby retaining the plate and with it the eye shaftin position.

6. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot open at the rear and adapted to receive the eye shaft, said bearinghaving a wider seat in back of the bearing slot extending all the way tothe end of the bearing slot and adapted to receive a back plate forclosing the bearing slot, the wider seat being adapted to be closedtoward the plate by applying heat and a, squeezing pressure to the rearends of the bearing, and thereby retaining the back plate and with itthe eye shaft in position.

'7. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having a plurality of eye shaftbearings formed integrally with the head and of the same material andprojecting rearwardly from the front of the head, said bearings havinghearing slots open at the rear to receive the eye shaft of an eye sethaving a weight arm, said bearings having wider seats in back of thebearing slots extending all the way to the end of the bearing.

slots and adapted to receive a back plate for closing the bearing slots,said back plate being bent rearwardly to accommodate swinging movementof the weight arm of the eye set, the wider seats being adapted to beclosed toward the plate by applying heat and a squeezing pressure to therear ends of the bearings, and thereby retaining the back plate and withit the eye shaft in position.

8. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature and having eye openings, an eye set having an eye shaftdisposed in said head at said openings, the inside of said head havingeye shaft bearings formed integrally with the head and of the samematerial and projecting rearwardly from the front of the head, saidbearings having bearing slots receiving the eye shaft, the sides of saidbearing slots being bent towardone another at one side of the shaft inorder to help retain theshaft in position.

9. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature and having eye openings, an eye set having an eyeshaftdisposed in said head at said openings, the inside of said headhaving eye shaft bearings formed integrally with the head and of thesame material and projecting rearwardly from the front of the head, saidbearings having bearing slots receiving the eye shaft, the rear ends ofsaid bearings being bent toward one another in order to help retain theeye shaft in position.

10. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature and having eye openings, an eye set including an eye shaftat said openings, and metal bushings surrounding the eye shaft, theinside of said head having one or more eye shaft bearings formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearings having slotsdimensioned to receive the metal bushings surrounding the eye shaft, thesides of said slots being bent toward one another at one side of thebushings in order to retain the eye shaft bushings and with them the eyeshaft in position.

11. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature and having eye openings, an eye set including an eye shaftat said openings, and metal bushings surrounding the eye shaft, theinside of said head having one or more eye shaft bearings formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearings having slotsdimensioned to receive the metal bushings surrounding the eye shaft, theends of said bearings being bent toward one another to retain the eyeshaft bushings and with them the eye shaft in position.

12. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature and. having eye openings, an eye set at said openings, saideye set including an eye shaft and a weight arm secured thereto, and aplate, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot receiving the eye shaft and a wider seat at the open end of thebearing slot receiving the plate for closing the bearing slot, the sidesof said seat bein bent toward one another around the outside of theplate in order to retain the plate and with it the eye shaft inposition. i

13. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature and having eye openings, an eye set at said openings, thesaid eye set including an eye shaft and a weight arm secured thereto,and a plate, the inside of said head having eye shaft bearings formedintegrally,

material rigidat room temperature and having eye openings, an eye set atsaid openings, the said eye set including an eye shaft and a weight armsecured thereto, and a back plate, the inside of said head having aplurality of eye shaft bearings formed integrally with the head and ofthe same material and projecting rearwardly from the front of the head,said bearings having bearing slots receiving the eye shaft and widerseats in back of the bearing slots receiving the back plate for closingthe bearing slots, said back plate bein bent rearwardly to accommodateswinging movement of the weight arm, the ends of said bearin being benttoward one another around the outside of the back plate in order toretain the back plate and with it the eye shaft in position.

15. In the manufacture of a molded doll head made of thermoplasticmaterial rigid at room temperature and having an eye set with an eyeshaft, the method of mounting the eye set in the head, which includesmolding the doll head with one or more slotted eye shaft bearingsprojecting rearwardly from the front of the head and of the samematerial, applying the eye shaft to the slots of said bearings, and thenapplying heat and squeezing pressure to parts of the bearings at theopen end of the slot in order to bend the same toward one another tothereby help retain the eye shaft in position.

16. In the manufacture of a molded doll head made of thermoplasticmaterial rigid at room temperature and having an eye set with an eyeshaft, the method of mountin the eye set in the head, which includesmolding the doll head with one or more slotted eye shaft bearingsprojecting rearwardly from the front of the head and of the samematerial, applying the eye shaft to the slots of said bearings, and thenapplying heat and a squeezing pressure to the rear ends of the bearingsat the open end of the slot in order to bend the same toward one anotherto thereby help retain the eye shaft in position.

17. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having eye shaft bearings formedintegrally with the head and projecting rearwardly from the front of thehead and of the same material, said bearings having slots open at oneend and dimensioned to receive an eye shaft and an additional metal partacting as a bearing for engaging yet affording rotation of said eyeshaft, said slots being adapted to be closed toward the metal part byapplying heat and a squeezing pressure to parts of the bearing andthereby retaining the aforesaid metal hearing part and with it the eyeshaft in position.

18. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature and having eye openings, an eyeset having an eye shaft atsaid openings, and metal bearing parts for bearing against said eyeshaft while affording rotation of said eye shaft, the inside of saidhead havingeye shaft bearings formed integrally with the head and of thesame material and projecting rearwardly from the front of the head, saidbearings having slots dimensioned to receive the eye shaft and theaforesaid metal bearing parts, the sides of said slots being directedtoward another outside the metal bearing parts in order to retain saidmetal bearing parts and with them the eye shaft in position.

19. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a, bearingslot of substantial total depth open at one end to receive the eyeshaft, the parts of said bearing 8 at the open end of said slot beinprojections which are of small section compared to the main adjacentparts of the bearing which define the closed end of the slot, wherebythe projections may be deformed toward one another in order to helpretain the eye shaft in position by'applying heat and a squeezingpressure to said projections, without deforming the main adjacent partsof the bearing.

20. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eyeshaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot of substantial total depth open at the rear end to receive the eyeshaft, the parts of said bearing at the rear end of said slots beingprojections which are wedge shaped and of small section compared to themain adjacent parts of the bearing which define the forward end of theslot, whereby the ends'of the projections may be deformed toward oneanother in order to help retain the eye shaft in position by applyinheat and a squeezing pressure to said projections, without deforming themain adjacent parts of the bearing.

21. .A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot of substantial total depth open at one end and dimensioned toreceive metal bushings surrounding the eye shaft, the parts of saidbearing at the open end of said slot being projections which are ofsmall section compared to the main adjacent parts of the bearing whichdefine the closed end of the slot, whereby the projections may bedeformed toward one another to retain the eye shaft bushings and withthem the eye shaft in position by applying heat and a squeezing pressureto said projections, without deforming the main adjacent parts of thebearing.

22. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot of substantial total depth open at the rear end and dimensioned toreceive metal bushings surrounding the eye shaft, the parts of saidbearing at the rear end of said slot being projections which are wedgeshaped and of small section compared to the main adjacent parts of thebearing which define the forward end of the slot, whereby the ends ofthe projections may be deformed toward one another to retain the eyeshaft bushings and with them the eye shaft in position by applying heatand a squeezing pressure to said projections, without deforming the mainadjacent parts of the bearing.

23. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot of substantial total depth open at one end, said bearing having awider seat at the open end of the bearing slot adapted to receive aplate for closing the bearing slot, the parts of said bearing at theopen end of said'slot being projections which are of small sectioncompared to the main adjacent parts of the bearing which define theclosed end of the slot, whereby the projections may be deformed towardone another in order to retain the plate and with it the eye shaft inposition by applying heat and a squeezing pressure to said projections,without deforming the main adjacent parts of the bearing.

24. A molded doll head made of thermoplastic material rigid at roomtemperature, the inside of said head having an eye shaft bearing formedintegrally with the head and of the same material and projectingrearwardly from the front of the head, said bearing having a bearingslot of substantial total depth open at the rear end, and having a widerseat at the rear end adapted to receive a plate for closing the bearingslot, the parts of said bearing at the rear end of said slot beingprojections which are wedge shaped and of small section compared to themain adjacent parts of the hearing which define the forward end of theslot, whereby the ends of the REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

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Number Name Date 1,309,190 Denes July 8, 1919 1,611,980 Yagoda Dec. 28,1926 1,999,725 Grubman Apr. 30, 1935 2,335,296 Miller Nov. 30, 1943FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 543,756 Great Britain Mar. 11, 1942

